Friday, February 25, 2011

Book Review: Heaven Is For Real

"What do you think heaven is like?"

I asked my four year old this question to see what she would say,

"Umm, I don't know... God?"

I would assume that's your basic four year old answer. If you were to catch your average four year old on a good day, after a nap, eating a snack, you might get a more elaborate answer. Perhaps, they would say they think there are snacks in heaven or unicorns or trains. Think of something completely random and that's probably what a four year old would say about heaven. Of course if you are Colton Burpo, then you have an answer for what heaven is like.

I was a little skeptical when I bought this book. Not because I don't believe in heaven. That is so far from the truth. I believe in heaven and hell and I know I'm going to heaven because I believe Jesus died for my sins, rose three days later and is coming again. If you don't believe that, you won't be seeing what this little boy saw.

But I digress.

I don't really know why I was so hesitant to read this book. I think because there was so much chatter about it. I didn't know if the chatter was sincere or just people pushing a book with a cute little boy on the front.

I decided I would succumb to the chatter and buy it, plus it was cheap, so if it was a snore, I wouldn't be out much.

Enter the part where I get all excited and you think I've lost it.

I LOVED THIS BOOK!!

A story told through the eyes of a child is always a fun story.

Now have a four year old, who has seen heaven, tell you what heaven is like through their eyes. AMAZING!

Colton, the little boy on the front of the book, was in heaven for a few minutes, the book says but I'm not going to divulge details, and through out the book we get to see what little Colton saw.

I really want to tell you everything this little boy saw because it's so cool, for lack of a better adjective, but I don't want to say too much because if I get started talking about content, I will spoil the fun of reading it.

So I will leave you with this. I don't need to visit heaven to believe in it's existence. I don't need to be like Thomas and see the marks in his hands to believe he died on the cross. I didn't need to be at the tomb when the stone was rolled away to believe he was not there. Why? One word my friends-

FAITH.

(I read this book as part of my goal in 2011 of reading 26 books in 52 weeks.)

Monday, February 14, 2011

Squirrel

Ever wondered what a squirrel looks like in 2 feet of snow? Now you can find out.






Saturday, February 12, 2011

Second Round

This round of snow began exactly a week later and was the nail in the coffin so to speak. The ground was still covered when we got dumped on again. The weather guys predicted Bartlesville to receive around 2"-4" of snow.

15" or so later, I'd say they were not completely correct.
It's possible some Oklahoma records were broken on Thursday for cold temps. We were -28 and the South Pole was -23. Just a few miles from here in Nowata, they were -31.
But in Oymyakon, Russia on Thursday as of 3pm it was -70! The had the worldwide lowest temperature. I wonder when people freeze instantly? My guess is around -70 degrees Fahrenheit.
I want to know who the person was that drew the short straw that has to live in Oymyakon, Russia. Poor dude.

Friday, February 11, 2011

First Round

I know everyone is talking about the Blizzard of 2011, Snowpocalypse, Snowmaggedon. I am going to be one of those people. I have to document it because I plan on turning this into a book. I printed 2008, yes I'm way behind it takes a long time to edit, and I plan on doing the same for all years.

The first round of snow hit on February 1. We were warned ahead of time that this storm might pack a punch. When I went to bed on the 31st, the snow had not begun. I started thinking the weather guys were wrong.

Matt woke on the 1st, came back to bed and said, I'm not going to make it to work today. (There was well over a foot of snow.) Which was fine by me! Any day I get him home is a great day in my books. That morning, Cooper sleepily walked into our room. When he saw that his daddy was home, he crawled up in bed purring, and laid with Matt. Yes Cooper purrs.

On the second day, we were still stuck. Highway 75 south was closed and it didn't open until midday on the 3rd. I guess there were cars and semis littering the road, blocking all thru traffic.



The temperature was too cold to play. But by the weekend, it had warmed up and Matt took the kids out until Cooper's face was beet red. He only ate the snow. Chloe rolled around in it like a cat does in the dirt. She was so happy to be out of the house. The kids and I weren't able to go anywhere until the 5th day!




Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Glitter

After God emptied His storehouses of snow on Oklahoma (Job 38:22a) something magnificent happened.

When He closed the heavens, and let go of the sun. Its ray bounced and leaped off the perfectly white snow that had been laid on my yard, a white fluffy blanket. I looked into the air and saw something; glitter.

I'm pretty sure God and His children in Heaven played with glitter today. If you look closely you will see it sparkle in the sun.

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

I Am Not Perfect

I am not a perfect person.

(Shock and awe resonate in your mind.)

Oh yea, it's true!

(Your mouths are hitting the floor.)

Yep. I'm not a perfect mom either!

(Shock and awe continues to resonate.)

Here's a bigger shock. I am not a perfect wife.

(You can't believe it I know.)

I don't pretend everything is always coming up roses. (Plus I hate roses, I'm a gerbera daisy kind of girl.)

I have days that are hard and I want to scream.

I have days that are hard and I do scream.

And you know what? This is normal. Spinning things for the world to think otherwise, is not normal.

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

My New Goal

At the begining of the new year, I decided I need a goal for 2011. Not a 'lose 10 lb's,' although I need it, or a eat less junk food. No, I needed a goal that means something, that will help me.

26in52

That's the name of my new goal.

I plan on reading 26 books in 52 weeks.

So far I've read 3.5

One book I started before the New Year, so it's the .5

I, like others with this goal, plan on reading fiction and non.

So far I've read:

The Potluck Club I
The Potluck Club II
Heaven Is For Real
Bringing Up Girl (.5)

I guess I could do reviews on the books I read.

I'll start with Bringing Up Girls.

-If you have a daughter, you have to read this. If you don't have a daughter, you have to read this.-

Review Complete.